Rodrigo Orihuela, Joao Lima, and Thomas Gualtieri of Bloomberg report that a major power outage struck Spain and Portugal on Monday, disrupting transportation, telecommunications, and daily life across the Iberian Peninsula. Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica attributed the blackout—one of Europe’s worst in years—to sudden losses in electricity generation, ruling out a cyberattack. The incident raises concerns over grid resilience amid the region’s growing reliance on renewable energy. They write:
Spain’s state-backed operator of electricity transmission lines said that one of Europe’s worst blackouts in years, which knocked out power to much of the Iberian peninsula on Monday, was most likely caused by losses in generation.
A cyberattack has been ruled out as a possible cause, said Red Electrica executive Eduardo Prieto, without providing further details. Spain’s power grid is typically robust and blackouts are very infrequent. […]
Spain, which has been a leader in the rollout of solar and wind, may face questions over its decision to decommission nuclear plants, which currently contribute 20% of its power mix. […]
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